Welcome to an adventure in practical civics

AB10, rebates — Yes

Disposes of purchase card rebates 50% to the rainy day fund and 50% to the agency which made the purchase. However 100% of the rebate is restricted and must not be used to replace or supplant funding from other sources. Doesn’t that mean can not be used to reduce the cost of anything budgeted or any project which is funded? Yet reducing those costs IS the mandate of any agency!

James Smack of the Controller’s office points out that the funds can be used to offset a price increase on a budgeted item, or used as a “discount” on a current project though, due to the time lag for the refund, not on the expenditure which generated the refund since that would have occurred in a prior year.

I support this bill on the basis of getting some control over the off-books refund issue so it is not used for off-books junkets.